Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds by Manchester City, the defending European champions, guaranteed a spot in the Club World Cup final in Jeddah.
As a result of the outcome, City will face Al Ahly on Friday after the Egyptian team defeated Fluminense, their Brazilian rivals, 2-0 earlier in the day.
It was a one-sided match at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium, with neither team managing to get a single shot on goal against City’s nine.However, Diamonds defender Marius Hoibraten’s own goal forced the English superpower to wait until the last minute to break the tie.
After the break, City quickly increased their lead and put the game beyond the Japanese team’s reach. With more than 30 minutes remaining in the match, Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva put the game to bed seven minutes after Croat midfielder Mateo Kovacic got his name on the scoresheet in the 52nd minute.
Coach Pep Guardiola, who shared the joint-highest three Club World Cup wins with FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, benched Julian Alvarez and left fit-again Kevin de Bruyne out of the starting lineup despite the unavailability of forward Erling Haaland and forward Jeremy Doku due to injuries.
A new champion will be crowned on December 22, regardless of who wins the coveted title.